I would love to know about the "leveling issues". As for colours, I'm a flooring person so I'm not going to be too much help on anything above the knee ;-P

I hate to see people having to give up on their floor of choice because of structural/leveling issues. I'm just very curious as to what happened...if you have the time and inclination to get in to it, that is.

What about a blue/gray paint color to give it some freshness and coolness against all the brown. I see you have replaced the microwave to stainless, are you upgrading the other appliances? If so the coolness in the blue/gray would look fabulous with the stainless. Also change out the cabinet hardware to a silver or pewter. Find a rug with your blue/gray some browns and reds in front of the sink. Use the space above the cabinets for accent pieces as well...I would hang some beautiful plates or artwork with similar colors as the rug to tie it altogether.

What color is your Living Room? If it's fairly neutral and you're not worried about toddlers and animals, why not go with carpet the color of the kitchen walls? If not go with a sisal or wool sisal in close to the shade of your cabinets. Don't despair - I love the mix of woods.

I think the stools in the kitchen are a little on the heavy side or maybe masculine. They overshadow you cabinets. I think you need some fabric on the windows and will need to either have crown molding installed on your top cabinets or decorate them with some LARGE items - platters, vases, jugs, baskets - whatever your style.

Thank you for the comments!

Leveling: The issue in summary was that the original house was built in about 1960. The house we bought was built in 1999 on the same lot. Somewhere along the lines, the main floor was off by tolerances not permitted by the flooring (laminate hardwood). Unfortunately , this was unknown to us before installation began since it was mostly carpeted. It was not until installation began that we learned of this issue. Once levelers were brought in, we learned we would either have to carpet the middle room or undo the laminate installation in the kitchen (and then adjust all clearances including all doorways and doors - which was much more than we cared to do at this point since we have many other aspects of the house to address right now.). Very disappointing. I did pay to have some of it leveled but it still leaves us with having to choose carpet where we hadn't planned on carpeting.

Other comments: I love the idea of cool colors and that was my original plan. I think I may revisit that given the comments here.

Again, thank you so much for the help!

Wow, great suggestions and I can't say how much I appreciate the picture (Dytecture). I certainly know when I am out of my element (as an IT expert) and color is certainly one of them. Thank you so much!

Hi---I suggest you bring in plum, pomegranate, and smokey charcoal to balance all the wood tones. It will be gorgeous. I also think a backsplash will help reflect and bounce light around this space. Wall color for you: Creekbed 1006...
Bordeaux Red 1365 could be used as an accent and Berber White 955 as a neutral... A soft warm gray carpet for the area between rooms.
Hope this is helpful. Good Luck!
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Thank you so much for the picture / advice yesterday. I really love the suggestions! Might I bother you with one more question? Since the living room is fairly open to the kitchen, what color(s) might one use in a living room that would compliment the blue / grey?

To dytechture..what is the name of the blue gray paint color in the picture you posted above?

Bethclapper I have the same question..my kitchen is off the living room too.
I am thinking of doing the living room in BM revere pewter with the blue gray color in the kitchen...